Mug Cozy

I have been looking for ways to use up leftover bits of yarn. I have had my eye on this Fancy Mug Cozy pattern by Kirsten Hipskey for a while. I love the idea of mug cozies. They look like sweaters for your mugs. I think they make a great "thinking of you" gift, because they could be paired with a gift card for coffee, someone's favorite box of tea, or a personalized mug.

This could also be a great stocking stuffer! I think it's important to think about packaging for these mug sweaters, though, because when they are laying flat it is not clear what they are. I like this idea for packaging from tinkerwiththis: 

 

I definitely recommend checking out her cute ideas. I'm going to go print out her template! 

Want to make your own mug cozy? Here are my tips on the Fancy Mug Cozy pattern from Kirsten Hipskey:

• Materials.  Size 6 needles. Worsted weight yarn. I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Worsted Weight.
• Pattern rating. Overall, an excellent pattern. It is well written and clear. It is not too difficult to get the general gist of it after you do one set of the cables. Also - you get the cable look without having to actually use a cable tool. I really liked that about this pattern.
• Modifications. I slipped the first stitch of every row to get a fancy edge. If you do that too, remember to purl the last stitch of every row when you are working on the wrong side. Also, remember to hold the yarn out of the way of the slipped stitch by pulling it towards you when you are working on the wrong side rows.
• Other tips. The button loop is really big on this pattern. You need to find a really large button (larger than 1" across), or I'd recommend making a smaller button loop. 

Hope you enjoy making this as much as I did! If you want more mug cozy ideas, I have a monogrammed cozy and a Yoda cozy.

Happy Crafting!

~SaltyCrafts

P.S. If you want to see more of my current projects, you can find me on instagram (SaltyCrafter) and on ravelry (bsl19).